Airport Security

Chronology of Coverage

Mar. 25, 2015

Ernesto Londono Editorial Observer remarks on popularity and success of Customs and Border Protection's Global Entry program, which allows some passengers an expedited customs process when entering the United States; notes that while it replaces machine with human interaction, it is far preferable to being detained repeatedly and needlessly. MORE

Mar. 22, 2015

Richard White, who attacked officers at a security checkpoint at the New Orleans airport with a machete, dies several hours after having been shot by an officer. MORE

Mar. 10, 2015

Joe Sharkey On the Road column notes Transportation Security Administration has withdrawn its request for proposals that would have permitted private firms to use social media for background checks on people applying for Precheck airport security program; says proposals alarmed privacy advocates. MORE

Jan. 18, 2015

News Analysis; Transportation Security Administration has reported 20 percent increase in number of gun confiscations at airport checkpoints in 2014, 230 percent increase from 2005; trend is attributed to both fact that more states allow concealed-carrying of firearms and that many more Americans have chosen to buy guns in response to mass shooting incidents. MORE

Jan. 9, 2015

Editorial calls for airport workers to be required to pass through metal detectors on way to job; points to disclosure that gun-running baggage handler in Georgia was able to smuggle 153 firearms in accomplice's carry-on bag on 17 Delta flights from Atlanta to New York during seven-month period; criticizes fact that passengers, pilots and flight crews must be screened, but workers are not. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

Joe Sharkey On the Road column observes Transportation Security Administration screeners found 2,201 guns in passengers' carry-on bags in 2014, up 21 percent from 2013; points out recent gun-smuggling plot at Atlanta airport illustrates problem of easy access to secure areas of airports by employees who bypass security. MORE

Dec. 10, 2014

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports American airports have screened nearly 2,000 travelers arriving from West African countries most affected by Ebola virus in month following beginning of enhanced screening process; only 4 percent of that total were identified for further evaluation. MORE

Dec. 9, 2014

Joe Sharkey On the Road column observes even frequent business travelers are often bewildered about rules on carrying liquids and gels onto airplanes, especially at holiday season. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Joe Sharkey On the Road column features conversation with outgoing Transportation Security Administration head John S Pistole, who says over 45 percent of airline passengers have enrolled in programs to move quickly through airport security checkpoints; Pistole says rules restricting carrying liquids through security will eventually be eased. MORE

Nov. 24, 2014

Quarantine mandated by New York and New Jersey governors on people flying to area from West Africa who have had contact with Ebola patients has been enforced in only one case; absence of quarantines is striking and possible explanation is that health care workers are either delaying their returns to United States or deliberately avoiding New York area airports, notably Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airports. MORE

Nov. 14, 2014

Editorial contends John Pistole, who has announced plans to retire as head of Transportation Security Administration, has left transformation of agency's approach to airline security incomplete; maintains creation of true 'risk based' approach to security screening, which would mean more unpredictable and variable measures, is necessary and difficult task that must also be sold to a skeptical public. MORE

Nov. 1, 2014

Virginia Judge Anthony Trenga rejects federal government’s effort to dismiss a lawsuit over the constitutionality of federal no-fly list on grounds that suit would expose state secrets; suit was filed by Gulet Mohamed after his apparent placement on list left him detained by Kuwaiti authorities. MORE

Oct. 24, 2014

Editorial supports new 21-day monitoring rules to be placed on travelers coming in to the United States from Ebola-affected countries Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone; contends measures are more effective than a harmful ban on travelers who have been in those countries since ban would include volunteers who have been battling the epidemic, and discourage more from joining the fight. MORE

Oct. 22, 2014

Obama administration announces that passengers arriving to the United States from Ebola-affected countries, such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, in West Africa must enter through one of five selected airports that are screening for the disease. MORE

Oct. 21, 2014

Gov Andrew M Cuomo of New York says federal government should contemplate banning some flights in response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, given that Port Authority of New York and New Jersey do not have power to put such a ban in place. MORE

Oct. 18, 2014

Public health officials say a travel ban on people coming from the three West African nations struggling with Ebola virus outbreak would be ineffective and difficult to carry out and would not entirely prevent people in Ebola-hit countries from entering the United States; health specialists say, that ultimately, a ban would do more harm than good because it would isolate impoverished nations already barely able to cope with virus. MORE

Oct. 17, 2014

Transportation Security Administration administrator John S Pistole, whose decision to put in place enhanced pat-downs and full body scans at airports drew wide criticism, is stepping down. MORE

Oct. 12, 2014

Enhanced Ebola screenings begin at Kennedy Airport in New York as fear grow that virus could spread around globe; Kennedy is first of five American airports to introduce Ebola screening protocols and new measures are latest indication of risk that the disease presents. MORE

Oct. 12, 2014

Reporter's Notebook; Times reporter Helene Cooper describes experience of undergoing enhanced airport security measures intended to curb Ebola transmission during trip back to United States from Liberia. MORE

Oct. 9, 2014

Federal health officials will require temperature checks for the first time at five major American airports for people arriving from three West African countries hardest hit by Ebola epidemic; however, health experts say measures are more likely to calm worried public than to prevent people with Ebola from entering country; move comes after death of Thomas Eric Duncan, Liberian man who was the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States. MORE

Oct. 9, 2014

Editorial notes new screening procedures directed at travelers entering United States from Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone, center of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa; holds screenings, while burdensome and possibly of little practical value, may ease public anxieties about keeping virus out of country and assure people that risks are being minimized. MORE

Oct. 8, 2014

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials promise additional measures to screen airline passengers arriving in United States for Ebola virus; remain opposed to draconian travel restrictions such as outright bans, saying that they would cause more problems than they would solve. MORE

Oct. 7, 2014

Pres Obama says screening for Ebola virus at airports both in the United States and West Africa will increase, but does not offer specifics; Dallas residents remain on edge as they await to learn if those who came into contact with Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan became infected. MORE

Oct. 3, 2014

Arrival in United States of Liberian man infected with Ebola virus shows how difficult it is to control or restrict the disease from spreading, and how porous current procedures are in world of globalized air travel; some experts say system, relying heavily on honesty of travelers and the diligence of airport workers, could quickly be overwhelmed by rapidly spreading disease. MORE

Oct. 2, 2014

Thomas E Duncan, Liberian man visiting relatives in Dallas who has been confirmed to be first Ebola case in United States, was screened at airport for signs of disease before leaving Liberia. MORE

Aug. 20, 2014

Obama administration is promising to change way people can ask to be removed from its no-fly list of terrorism suspects barred from air travel; decision follows federal judge’s ruling that there is no meaningful way to challenge designation, situation deemed unconstitutional. MORE

Aug. 19, 2014

Joe Sharkey On the Road column describes how passenger posing as screening officer at San Francisco airport has raised concerns about use of private screening contractors; notes incident occurred in face of renewed controversy about Transportation Security Administration's management of its privatization program. MORE

Aug. 5, 2014

Joe Sharkey On the Road column; some travelers have been sent through PreCheck airport security checkpoints without having paid a fee to enroll in popular program, but Transportation Security Administration will soon end that. MORE

Jul. 15, 2014

Joe Sharkey On the Road column; threat by Al Qaeda to turn electronic devices into bombs raises concerns among business travelers about confiscated phones and laptops and the privacy of their data. MORE

Jul. 8, 2014

Transportation Security Administration is requiring passengers at some foreign airports to turn on their electronic devices before boarding their flights to the United States; measure comes after reports surface that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is trying to disguise explosives in devices like cellphones; airport officials must confiscate devices that fail to power up. MORE

Jul. 3, 2014

Department of Homeland Security tightens passenger screening on many United States-bound flights from Europe, Africa and the Middle East in response to intelligence reports of increased threat from Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen; intelligence of new threat is latest indication that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is trying to bring down a United States-bound airliner. MORE

Jun. 19, 2014

Editorial warns that increase in firearms intercepted by Transportation Security Administration at airport security checkpoints highlights worrisome normalization of casual gun ownership; says current gun laws undermine responsibility by sending message that it is okay to bring guns anywhere; holds that bringing firearms into security checkpoints should be made felony in all states. MORE

Jun. 10, 2014

Joe Sharkey On the Road column; Transportation Security Administration reports that so far in 2014 it has found 892 guns at airport checkpoints, 19 percent more than in the same period of 2013; notes most often, offenders are simply told to take their firearms back to their cars. MORE

May. 6, 2014

Joe Sharkey On the Road column discusses widely hated airport body scanners, noting that travelers with metal implants prefer them; points out that for them, passing through a metal detector often results in a pat-down. MORE

Apr. 29, 2014

Joe Sharkey On the Road column observes that PreCheck, expedited-screening program used by a quarter of all passengers in domestic airports, has become a far less irritable experience than in the past. MORE

Apr. 7, 2014

Editorial criticizes Transportation Security Administration behavior detection program; holds it has not made TSA agents any better at identifying high-risk passengers despite its nearly $1 billion price tag; urges Congress to take advice of Government Accountability Office and limit funding for the program. MORE

Mar. 27, 2014

Transportation Security Administration releases new security measures in response to fatal 2013 shooting at Los Angeles International Airport; recommends armed personnel be present at airport checkpoints during peak hours of passenger traffic, though airports would be able to tailor the security to their specific needs MORE

Mar. 25, 2014

Studies show that body language is a poor indicator of whether someone is lying or not, and that observers have difficulty identifying liars based on body language alone; findings carry implications for airport security training programs that teach Transportation Security Administration officers to read people's movements. MORE

Mar. 19, 2014

Report from panel contracted by Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners paints grim picture of emergency response to November 2013 shooting at Los Angeles International Airport that left one Transportation Security Administration officer dead and several other people wounded; notes both chaos and heroism, but cites poor communication and coordination among emergency officials. MORE

Mar. 11, 2014

Aviation safety experts say discovery that two passengers on missing Malaysian airliner were traveling on stolen passports has revealed a major gap in security procedures developed since the attacks of Sept 11, 2001; only three countries systematically screen travelers against Interpol's database of stolen passports. MORE

Feb. 18, 2014

LED light fixtures at Newark Liberty International Airport are part of new wireless network that collects data, holding promise of better management of security as well as energy, traffic and people; system uses array of sensors and eight video cameras to gather and feed data into software; privacy advocates say system also raises specter of technology racing ahead of ability to harness it, running risks of invading privacy and mismanaging information. MORE

Jan. 28, 2014

Supreme Court rules that airlines may not be held liable for minor falsehoods in warning authorities about potential threats to air security; also issues decisions on whether workers must be paid for time spent changing into protective gear and on enhanced sentences for drug dealers whose products result in death. MORE

Jan. 28, 2014

Joe Sharkey On The Road column examines a Transportation Security Administration newsletter, noting that employees expect an uptick of travelers attempting to pack firearms and a growing enrollment in the PreCheck program. MORE

Jan. 5, 2014

Stephanie Rosenbloom The Getaway column discusses five-step travel checklist for smoother travel year in 2014. MORE

Dec. 5, 2013

Paul A Ciancia, man charged with killing an airport safety officer and shooting three others at Los Angeles International Airport, is held without bail after refusing to enter plea in his first court appearance. MORE

Dec. 3, 2013

Joe Sharkey On the Road column notes that confusion reigned for travelers during the Thanksgiving holiday period; observes new rules on passengers’ mobile devices and the new members of the PreCheck program added up to befuddlement in one of the busiest travel times of the year. MORE

Dec. 1, 2013

News analysis; suit filed by Stanford University PhD student Rahinah Ibrahim challenging the United States government's main terrorist watch list is finally going to trial, after almost eight years of wrangling; case may signal a change to the secrecy surrounding the lists, as well as the difficult process of challenging one's inclusion on the list. MORE

Dec. 1, 2013

Air travelers are hoping Transportation Security Administration's new PreCheck airport security system will ease long lines; some are using mobile apps. MORE

Nov. 29, 2013

Lawmakers and police warn that homemade firearms could become national law enforcement problem if the Undetectable Firearms Act is not renewed before it expires in December; rise in 3-D printing technology has made it far easier to produce working plastic weapons that can slip through metal detectors and X-ray machines. MORE

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March 20, 2015, Friday

A convicted felon and former member of a domestic terrorist organization was allowed to pass through an expedited security line designed for passengers who are not considered a security threat, the Homeland Security Department's internal watchdog...

On Dec. 10, a man carrying a backpack containing 16 firearms with ammunition flew aboard a Delta Air Lines passenger jet to Kennedy International Airport in New York from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.